The Editor’s Podcast with Dr. Lloyd F. Novick will appear with each new issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice and will offer a closer look at the articles published in the latest issues with guest appearances by authors, guest editors, and others.

In this episode of the Editor’s Podcast, Dr. Novick talks with Dr. Mark Levine, Commissioner of Health for the Vermont Department of Health, about a new case study, “The National Epidemic of Gun Violence: The Vermont Department of Health Response,” published in the Jan 2020 issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, which chronicles the events of a near miss mass school shooting that happened in Vermont in 2018.

Dr. Mark Levine was appointed commissioner of health by Governor Phil Scott and began service on March 6, 2017. Prior to his appointment he was a Professor of Medicine at the University of Vermont, and most recently the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at the College of Medicine and the UVM Medical Center. He also served as the Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Levine obtained his B.A. in Biology from the University of Connecticut and received his M.D. degree from the University of Rochester. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and a Chief Resident year at the University of Vermont and a fellowship in general internal medicine at the University of North Carolina, which emphasized clinical epidemiology, research training, teaching, and administration of educational programs.

Dr. Levine has gained a reputation as an outstanding teacher and educational program innovator, receiving teaching awards from the medical school and the Department of Medicine. He maintains his faculty appointment and continues to actively teach. Prior to becoming Commissioner, he actively practiced general internal medicine with special interests in solving complex diagnostic dilemmas, health promotion/ disease prevention, screening and clinical nutrition. This provided him with personal perspective on the challenges our healthcare system holds for physicians as well as patients. At the nexus of Dr. Levine’s clinical, education, public health and advocacy efforts is his heightened interest in improving health at the population level through health policy directed at fostering a culture of health. As Health Commissioner, Dr. Levine takes great pride in leading the Department of Health’s efforts to fulfill its mission – To protect and promote the best health for all Vermonters and is honored to represent its vision of Healthy Vermonters living in healthy communities.

Learn More:

• The National Epidemic of Gun Violence: The Vermont Department of Health Response
• RAND Corporation: Gun Policy Research Review
• Firearm Injury and Death in Vermont

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Lloyd F. Novick, MD, MPH is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Public Health at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University. Previously, he was chair of this Department. He has served as the Commissioner of Health and Secretary for Human Services of Vermont, Director of Health Services for Arizona, and Director of the Office of Public Health for New York State. Previous academic positions include Professor and Director of the Preventive Medicine Program for SUNY Upstate Medical University, Professor and Chair of Epidemiology at the University of Albany School of Public Health, and Clinical Professor and Director of the Teaching Program in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Vermont, College of Medicine. He is the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. [Full bio]